Red Wood
by kimah36
Summary: Raph has a secret that he's been hiding, and only Leo can figure it out. Lots of brotherly fluff, a bit of bonding. One Shot 2k14 turtles.


**A/N: Just a little one shot set in the 2k14 verse. There was a scene in the movie as they were kids, Raph carved a beautiful statue of himself. I thought it would be cool to expand on the thought that Raph actually enjoys arts and crafts. His time in the Hashi was spent knitting and by the neatness of the scarf he was making, I imagined that after a time he might have liked to make things.**

**Red Wood**

It was getting a little bit chilly tonight. They hadn't done any patrols the past few nights because of the storms that ushered in off the Atlantic and battered the eastern seaboard. The rooftops were still soggy as they tried their best not to splash water and make noise. Thunder rolled in the distance signaling another storm brewing. They were almost back home, but first Mikey wanted to check in on April. The storms had knocked out power to certain neighborhoods, and April's was one of those affected. They made their way to the familiar group of buildings and quietly descended the fire escape and knocked on her window. It was pitch black in the apartment until they saw the beam of a halogen flashlight illuminate almost the entire place. The flashlight went off, and shortly after they heard the small click of a window unlocking and being eased up. They all filed in and took their places. Mikey headed towards the couch, Donnie to the kitchen table, Leo standing by the window, and Raph the big recliner that was too old but oh so comfortable. He leaned back, instinctively propping his feet on the coffee table.

"Raphael, get your big filthy feet off my coffee table." April yelled from the kitchen where she had disappeared to. She heard grumbling from Raph, then giggling from Mikey.

"You too Michelangelo!" She yelled again, the use of his full name making him sit up straight like a chastened school child. It also earned a retaliatory smack to the head from his mean older brother. Leonardo shook his head liking the fact that she hadn't let them slide with it this time. Donnie wasn't paying any attention as he was carefully unfolding something that sounded suspiciously like plastic wrap, which he had produced from one of his various mysterious pockets and pouches.

"Um April do you have any coffee?" He asked.

"Yeah sure Donnie. I stopped and got some from the little coffee shop down the street. It's still hot. You can have it." She said bringing the steaming large cup to the table and setting the flashlight upright so that it could serve as a general light. Once again it almost illuminated the entire small apartment.

"Oh, April you don't have to give me yours. I'll make do without…"

"Donnie!"

"Okay sorry." He said with a sheepish grin and happily accepting the coffee. She was about to turn and go back to the kitchen when she noticed how meticulously Donnie was handling his item. He laid it flat on the table, almost with reverence. Then he carefully unfolded each side. He paused for a moment, licking his lips and taking a big whiff before lifting the only thing he ate that he relished like that besides coffee. Pop Tart icing. He had almost every flavor. There were a few chocolate ones, vanilla, and even one orange although that was his least favorite. He was about to take a nice bite until he noticed her staring. He looked her up and down before turning his body away and staring at her as though he thought she might steal it, or worse ask for some. April laughed and backed away with her hands up in surrender. 

"Alright, alright, just calm down. I don't want any of your pop tart skins, geez" April said as she started to root around in the refrigerator. The lights had been out for almost two days, and she was trying to get rid of all her perishable food. She had some veggies enough for a small salad, a half-gallon of milk, some yogurt, a few apples, and some strawberries. She needed to go grocery shopping, so she wasn't too put out by the potential loss of food. All of these items she brought to the kitchen table where Donnie was still hoarding his treasure.

"Anyone want a salad? I got milk and cookies too if you want" she said sitting down and preparing the meager meal. Only Leonardo didn't scrunch his nose at the mention of vegetables. He sat down next to her and began helping her with it.

"April, why don't you come down with us until they get the electricity together? Why stay here in the dark? It's gotta be driving you crazy right?" Leo asked. They weren't worried just yet, but she didn't live in the best neighborhood, and they were always a little over protective of her.

"Like I told Mikey, I have a string of interviews set up this week and all of them are farther away from your lair than they are from here. I just can't make it to them on time from there." She said looking up and seeing their expressions even in the dim light. Leo smiled politely as always but still seemed disappointed, Raph tried to be indifferent, Donnie looked at her wide-eyed as he was back to himself since he was done with his icing, and Mikey was openly pouting complete with poking bottom lip. Seeing him, April smiled and got a cup of milk and a few cookies and brought it to him. She plopped down on the couch next to him and fed him a cookie, as he brought a large muscular arm around her and drew her closer, grinning from ear to ear. Raph looked at the scene unfolding before him with a disgusted expression.

"I'll never understand how you roped this woman into gettin' with you." April smiled his way and shrugged, popping another cookie into Mikey's waiting mouth.

"No ropes involved Raph my good man. Just a whole lot of awesome, sexy, Mikey-ness. I mean look at me, I'm tall, totally built, baby blue eyes, and I've got the biggest…"

"Don't you say it."

"…longest…"

"Mikey I'm warnin' you"

"…hardest..."

"Mikey, if you say it I'm gonna bust you up!"

"….pair of nunchucks she's ever seen in her LIFE!" He laughed uproariously as April and Raph jumped him, April with playful punches, and Raph with a full headlock.

Leo and Donnie couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous scene. After it all simmered down, they asked her once more to come with them, and when she refused they got ready to leave.

Once they got to the lair they all crashed, tired from the lengthy patrol they had done. When night was about to fall again, they had all gathered around the television for the news. They wanted to see where the crimes were said to be taking place, giving them a direction to start with for patrol. Then there was the report on the storm and the way it had knocked out power, and that's when Raph saw them. The trees in Central Park had been knocked down, twisting this way and that as the wind and rain had torn them from the ground. He licked his lips a little, thinking. He had a secret love that he guarded fiercely from his brothers for fear of ridicule. Raphael loved, absolutely loved arts and crafts. Specifically, he loved woodworking, and to a slightly lesser degree knitting. He was talented with his hands. The wood carving, building things, whittling, all began when he was young.

An 11-year-old Raph had wandered off as he was always doing. It was after a particularly bad rainfall and the sewers were full of debris. Among all the stuff, he found a few toys he could give to Mikey, an electronic thing he thought Donnie might want, and a few pieces of wood. He gathered all those things and brought them back, but he didn't show his brothers the wood. That he kept for himself. Mikey loved the little action figures Raph had given him, and Donnie had graciously accepted the electronic looking thing although Raph suspected ultimately it was useless to him. In his room that night while his brothers slept, Raph studied the pieces splayed out on the floor before him. He could see the shapes, he could see what the pieces wanted to be he just had to figure out how to cut them out. Carefully he took a single sai, and began. His face was a picture of concentration, tongue poking from the corner of his mouth, and a small bead of sweat forming on his brow ridge. When he fought, the sai was a part of him, but now as a makeshift woodcutting tool it was awkward and wrong in his hands, but he was determined to make it work. Little by little the wood shavings fell as the piece began to take shape. Almost all night he worked, and when he was done he smiled brightly. It was a small figurine of Splinter. It was crude only because he hadn't had the right tools, but for his first time it was clear this was a talent of his. It was almost a spitting image of his father, complete with flowing robe, and one finger poised in instruction.

Raph was brought out of his thoughts by his brother's voices. They were wondering why he was just standing there, not following them out for the night. He was usually the first one out and the last one in.

"Raph? What gives? Is something wrong? Do you need a quick checkup before we get going?" Donnie asked, questions firing a thousand a minute.

"Nah, I'm good Donnie," Raph said as he motioned them on ahead of him. "Can't a guy think for a minute, geez?" Raph said feigning annoyance.

"Yeah, he's alright," Donnie deadpanned.

He was barely paying attention. There was one or two thugs to beat down, Leo to annoy, Mikey to smack around, and Donnie to misunderstand. Regular night on the town. All he could think about was how he was gonna sneak back out. He had to get to those felled trees before the power got back on in the park. There would be no better time, and it was limited. New York was a big city and they would eventually get it together and run as normal.

Again, they had uncharacteristically gone to bed sooner rather than later. Raph went to his room after a quick shower. He laid down in his hammock, lazily swinging back and forth but not at all sleepy. He folded his hands on his plastron, closed his eyes and listened. He listened for any signs of stirring, slowing his breathing and heartbeat so that he could hear better. Once he was satisfied, he slowly got up not making a sound. There was no one in the kitchen, he could hear Leo snoring, Mikey was talking in his sleep, and the dojo was empty. A small light was flickering in Donnie's room but this was always the case. Raph peeked in just to be sure. Donnie was laying on his custom bed that Raph helped make. Donnie was the only one of them that actually liked sleeping on their backs, so they made a concave mattress for him to sleep on. His glasses were on the small table next to him. Good sign, he never takes his glasses off unless he turns in for the night.

Quietly, Raphael made his way out into the night. It was still chilly and he could smell the rain in the air. He wished he could find a place to go swimming. Perhaps he would ask April about her family farm in the boonies she was always yapping about. For a while he flew across the rooftops but eventually there were no more. He had tied a small sack on his back in preparation for his little excursion. On the last available roof, he knelt down and opened it. It was his trench coat disguise, but also a few cutting tools he had made or found over the years. One in particular he had stolen from a hardware. He wasn't too proud of stealing, but this particular tool was too intricate to be made by him, but he just had to have it. He put on the coat, hat, and wrapped a scarf around his face. He was suddenly very thankful that it was cool out. Having no real need for proper clothing, it always made him feel restricted and too warm. His tools he bundled in a worn leather folding pouch, and tucked them under his arm. He jumped down from the roof into the alley below and carefully made his way onto the streets. He didn't run into too many people. In the wee hours of the morning only the crack heads, drunkards, homeless, and other dregs of society were even out here. He smirked to himself that he should be out here with them.

It didn't take long for him to get to the park and blessed shadows. The power was off here still, and he could rest a little easier about being seen, but just a little. He headed towards the middle of the park where most of the felled trees were. He had to step lightly not to land his bare feet on a piece of jagged branch or other debris strewn about the ground. He saw a large tree that had been struck by lightning. It was split down the middle into almost two perfect halves. He considered it for a moment, but decided against it. He couldn't see the sculpture within. He looked around for more suitable pieces and then he saw them. A tight grouping of tall stumps were in a circle. They were perfect. He would start there with the one furthest to his left. He got out his tools and his hands remembered the work. Slowly he began at first, but then built speed and his enjoyment grew. Wood shavings were everywhere as he worked with superhuman speed. He took a break only to step back and assess his work, making small alterations here and there. He had almost lost track of time, as he looked up the first fingers of dawn stretched and clawed their way across the eastern sky. With speed only a ninja could possess he had to get back to the lair before Leo awoke. He might even be too late, as Leo awoke with the dawn unfailingly.

He was out of breath by the time he hit the turnstiles. The lair still seemed to be asleep, but that couldn't be trusted. As quietly as he could he tried to make his way to his room, but a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Out late weren't we?" Leo asked. He had been waiting for Raph it seemed.

"Yeah and what of it? You my mommy now?" Raph asked, hoping that being angry could distract from the fact that he had just walked in at the crack of dawn.

"If that's what you wanna say. Where were you Raph? You know we aren't supposed to leave without the others knowing, it's too dangerous. You could have been hurt and we wouldn't know where you were or which direction to even start looking." Leo said getting up and walking towards his brother.

"Don't get in my face Leo. It's none of your business what I was doin'." He said trying to avoid his brother's icy glare. He hated when Leo started to probe in that calm, we-can-get-through-this-together voice.

"No it is my business. You're my brother Raph." Leo said standing right in front of his brother, looking up at him. Looking at his disguise gear Leo thought he might have the answer.

"Are you…seeing someone Raph? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, yeah I got a girlfriend. A model chick, lives in downtown Manhattan in a high rise. Just got through gettin' my jollies, that's why I lost track o' time. Satisfied Leo? Huh? Wanna know the juicy details?" Raph said sarcastically, enjoying the way the thought if it was making Leo uncomfortable. Then Leo's eyes narrowed. He saw right through it.

"Well, whatever it was are we done with it?"

"Yes mommy dearest," Raph said, brushing past Leo and shoulder checking him as he passed. A knife looking tool fell from a leather pouch and Leo caught it before it could hit the floor and make noise. He studied it for a while, trying to place where he had seen it before. Then the memory hit him, hard. This was Raph's first handmade wood cutter. Leo was the first to know of Raph's whittling and carving.

Absently, Leo touched a large scaly finger to his chest armor. It was Raph who made it for him as a gift when they were children. Leo had seen it on a samurai in a movie and wanted one so badly. He had tried to make it himself, but when Raph saw his pathetic attempts, he offered to make it for him. Up until that day Leo hadn't known that Raph could whittle. He thought Raph was just making fun of him until one day Raph presented it to him. He had awakened early that morning so that it could be only him and Leo, and he nervously presented it from behind his back. Leo was dumbstruck. It was why Raph had been so tired every morning for two weeks, and why he was so listless in training. He was making that gift, working on it all hours of the night. Leo hadn't known that, and had been getting on his case for being lazy and unfocused. At the sight of the gift, Leo hugged his brother fiercely while promising not to tell. The promise didn't hold, as he was the one who made their armor after Donnie designed it. Raph didn't mind. Soon his brothers forgot about the wood working in particular and he had been glad of that.

Slowly coming out of the bliss of a memory he had buried, he stopped Raph before he could make it to his room.

"You dropped this Raph. You might wanna hang on to it." Leo spoke softly, holding it out to Raph like a sacred weapon.

Raph looked at it, and snatched it out of Leo's hand more out of embarrassment than any anger. Leo smiled wistfully. Raph was blushing badly, scared that his brother would try to make him feel bad about this. He wondered if Leo remembered. When he looked at Leo and at the goofy expression on his face he knew he did.

"Don't worry, this time your secret really is safe with me Raph. Just be careful, and hurry up before dad wakes up. We don't want him asking questions." Leo said turning away and heading towards the dojo for morning training. Raph smiled a bit, relieved that Leo was gonna cover for him, but more than that Leo understood. He wasn't gonna hassle him about it. Raph headed off to his room to get some much needed sleep before the day got started. He laid down in his hammock this time rocking himself to sleep. He wondered what they would say when they saw it?

OOOOOOOO

_**Morning joggers were greeted by a wonderful sight, as they covered the length of the park. Pictures and video flooded the internet and social media today of large sculptures that appeared seemingly overnight. There are four figures, and they are pure works of art. The artist is not known, and no one has claimed the art as of yet. As you can see, there are renditions of four popular art and literary references. There is the thinker, Atlas, the Joker, and a gladiator warrior. The only clues we have are initials left under each. There is a "D", "L", "M" and an "R" under each carving respectively. No one knows who this artist is, but the city of New York thanks them for making our morning just that much brighter.**_


End file.
